Dog shot at farm in Bethlehem.

BETHLEHEM — The town’s animal control officer on Saturday shot and killed a Siberian husky that was loose in the hamlet of South Bethlehem, a move that outraged the animal’s owners and led to competing claims over what led to the death.

Lt. Thomas Heffernan, spokesman for Bethlehem police, said the police department received a call at 10:06 a.m. reporting a loose dog attacking livestock.

Animal Control Officer Richard Watt responded, Heffernan said, and observed the husky chasing goats and horses in a pen.

Heffernan said he was not sure how the dog got into the pen, but said the dog was biting at the rear legs of one of the horses and another horse became upset at the commotion and banged into the fence. Watt and the homeowner, who had a shotgun, tried to get into the pen, but the dog growled and continued to chase and bite at the horse, Heffernan said.

In order to save the livestock, police said, Watt shot the dog with a pistol he carries.

“This is a very rare occurrence,” Heffernan said. “It looks like he had exhausted other avenues to save the livestock of the homeowner.”

Jordan Decker, 21, questioned some of the police department’s statements and asked why Watt had not tried to tranquilize or capture the dog. He also said that Nikki had never shown aggression toward other animals, including a household cat.

“We feel that he was justified based on New York State Agriculture and Markets law,” Heffernan said.

The goats in the incident did not appear to be injured, Heffernan said, and the horses would be examined.

I’m sure that the dog was very nice, but what people don’t understand is that dogs have instincts. They are natural predators. They are EVERY FARMER’S worst nightmare – worse than coyotes or fox. More farm animals are killed by domestic dogs owned by neighbors than any other predators.

I’ve had issues on both sides of me with neighbors’ loose dogs. I almost shot one neighbor’s dog – it had my llamas so riled up one night. I thought it was a coyote – actually, I thought there might be a pack and I was afraid to leave the barn…it was dark, the llamas were alarm calling, stomping and at attention. Fortunately – for the dog, it couldn’t get through the fence.

I have more stories of my own, but the fact is PEOPLE NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR DOGS AT ALL TIMES! I’ve heard every excuse. If my dog got loose and got shot, it would be my own fault and I would take responsibility.

Donkey attacked by pet dogs.

I could share hundreds of stories of domestic – NICE, FRIENDLY, and LOVING dogs killing livestock. It’s nature. I feel terribly for the Animal Control officer who had to be put in that position, but from what I gathered from the article, he did the right thing.

I am very sorry for the owners, truly I am and I cannot imagine their heartbreak. But, they must understand that if livestock is at risk from a dog attack, farmers have a right to protect their animals.

90 Responses

I read this with great interest. When my husband and I read the article on Sunday morning, we immediately disagreed. The difference that arose in our home and the difference on this blog is one and the same. My husband grew up on a farm, I did not. While he loves and cares for our pet dogs, he is very much of the mind that they are animals. His way of thinking is that an animal is animal, and if an animal is going to do harm to another animal that animal needs to be put down. I view my pets as “fur kids” and could never envision a scenario that I could justify or rationalize that action. What I do know is that farming is way of life/lifestyle. It is one that if you do not grow up in, you most likely will not understand. My husband told me stories of farmers rebuilding barns and milking the cows of a very unreputable farmer when he was badly injured. When I asked why people would help that kind of person, his rely was “farmers ALWAYS help another farmer- it is just what you do”. My thought was not to help him, let things fall apart and you won’t have to deal with him anymore. Which of us has the correct rationale?? If you were to look at this on its face, I would appear to be the less kind person because I wouldn’t be inclined to help a struggling human being but could never harm a dog and my husband would help the struggling human but potentially put down a dog.
. Truly think this is a case of people living different lifestyles under different philosophies.

Bethlehemmom – Yours is my favorite comment and so very well written, thank you for sharing. Your very last sentence is perfect. I wasn’t always a full-time farmer. There was a time I probably would have been upset about that dog getting shot as well. But, when one lives and breathes a life with farm animals, in some cases as pets – like me, and for others a livelihood too, being invaded is rape of sorts. In the case of a dog attack, there is no time to think. And yes, farmers help each other, it is a beautiful thing. We don’t even have to know each other….and you know what in same cases farmers might not even like each other…but they will still help. Because that is what we do.
Thank you again for your comment, perhaps what you’ve written will help others understand a little better. Or we can hope.

For everyone that has a hard time understanding that a dog is an animal, feel free to put yourself in a position where you are attacked by several “domesticated dogs” and then tell us how you feel, it’s horrifying, I have been and luckily I can look back and say I walked away unharmed.
For the record, I’m not a farmer but, I know people that are farmers and respect what they do.
I am also a dog owner and while I love her, I would completely understand if that was my dog in that situation.
I feel sorry for people like “DogLover” who have absolutely ZERO concept of life outside of their own absent minded worlds, and view life through their eyes only. Sad, sad, sad.
We need more people like you, maybe we can send you to go speak to the drug cartels and demand an answer of why they’re so violent, I’m sure you could convince them to halt the barbaric actions, promote world peace and then when your done you can come back to Lark Street.

You guys are so close minded. Please read comments posted elsewhere , and — no, it’s not a dog lover’s website either, as earlier claimed by Ms. Conroy — to see a more balanced group of people commenting. In fact, it’s from another article from the TU (of course, not one by Ms. Conroy).

@66 – The dog WAS chasing and biting at goats and horses. Please reread the articles!

Did any of you read the laws stated in comment 55? Calling us close minded when the only animal you are concered with is the one NOT on their own property. Again, the goats and horses were in their fenced yards, why was the dog not?

Ann! Thank you, THANK YOU! You are so brilliant! Shoot, I wish you posted this sooner so that we could have avoided a lot of aggravation. Okay farmers and farmer friends, start saving your rocks. All we have to do is throw rocks at a dog attacking our livestock and it will run away! Darn, I wish I thought of that, but hey, I’m just a senseless moron.

@Ann, I agree. I didn’t read of any other animal hurt in this whole thing. Nipping at horses is hardly vicious! The ACO probably thought it was a wolf. That’s the only thing I can think of besides him being a total tool.

Teri…I wish I could LOVE your comment #68…haha. I am a senseless moron as well I think…although, I’m a farmer (which also apparently makes me a redneck), gun owner, and dog owner. Oh, I’m also crazy according to commenter 65. I’m finding out a lot about myself today!

I loved comment #61 because she reiterated the fact that if you’re not a farmer, you don’t understand. Reading about it is NOT THE SAME as being there. You have absolutely no clue the harm predators can do when their instincts control their behavior….and a dog IS a PREDATOR. As much as I don’t care for a few of you at all, I still pray that you NEVER EVER have to witness or see the aftermath of a dog attack on livestock. I don’t wish it on anyone. Ever.

Wow-glad DogLover and that ilk don’t live around me either. I love dogs-as a matter of fact, I am heavily involved in dog rescue and own 10 dogs myself. However, that being said, I take FULL responsibility for my dogs-they are mine and they are kept on my property, same as my chickens & my llamas. I don’t expect my neighbors to have to put up with any of them on their property. I don’t want to shoot a dog, but when they are attacking my livestock, I am left with little choice. They are not behaving as “pets” when they are in that mode and I have approached dogs on my property that were harrassing my livestock. The result-the dogs bared their teeth at me and dared me to interfere. Rocks aren’t gonna faze them.
This comes down to responsibility-and taking responsibility for your own actions (or inactions). Allowing your dogs to roam is signing their death warrant-from farmers, from vehicles, from other predators, and the list goes on. If you truly love your pet-KEEP IT HOME!

68.Ann! Thank you, THANK YOU! You are so brilliant! Shoot, I wish you posted this sooner so that we could have avoided a lot of aggravation. Okay farmers and farmer friends, start saving your rocks. All we have to do is throw rocks at a dog attacking our livestock and it will run away! Darn, I wish I thought of that, but hey, I’m just a senseless moron.”

Really Teri? The dog did not attack anything and I certainly wasn’t calling you or anyone else a moron.

I know you love to be disrespectful to anyone who has a slightly opposing opinion to yours, but your comment to mine is ridiculous. The point is, they could have done something other than just kill the dog -they didn’t even try.

Ann – If throwing rocks at a dog in predator mode worked, I wouldn’t have posted this blog and we wouldn’t be ‘discussing’ it. And I didn’t say you called me a moron. (But, somebody else did.)

You and I must have read different accounts of what happened. If the dog did not attack anything, why were the police called in the first place? And also, if it was such a benign moment, wouldn’t throwing rocks at the dog be animal abuse?

You can have all the different opinions you want, but until you’ve been in that livestock owner’s shoes, the ACO’s shoes, my shoes, or another farmer’s….your opinion is not going to matter much. Our thoughts are based on EXPERIENCE. Your opinions are from blog surfing and not getting the facts straight.

There she goes again. It’s my way or the highway! That should be your motto, Ms. Conroy, cause as you say ‘your opinion is not going to matter much.’ I’m surprised and dismayed the the TU gives you a forum!!! Leave Ann alone. She is entitled to her opinion.

I don’t think that one has to be a farmer to understand the situation. I understand it perfectly well and I’ve never worked long-term on a farm. I think it’s matter of empathy. These people, who are obsessive in their love of dogs, refuse to see anything potentially negative about the humans. Every time they read a dog story, they think only of their deep connections with their dogs and only think emotionally. They can’t objectively put themselves in a farmer’s shoes, nor can they emotionally relate to farmers either.

Any time a dog does something that we might consider reprehensible, it’s always the human’s fault, and the dog should never be accountable. I think in the real world, this logic falls flat, because it’s common practice to put down down dogs that have become dangerous to either people or other animals. This notion that we could potentially go out and rehabilitate all dangerous dogs is pretty absurd to me. We have countless animals in shelters at any given point in time, and we are forced euthanize so many because of constraints on space and money, and we’re going to devote space and money to dog rehabilitation? So some poor family dog can sit and languish in a kennel because we thought it important to rehab a dog that mauled a child? In a perfect world, maybe this would happen, but so would a lot of things (that I don’t think ever will happen either), and you can’t make plans based on what the perfect world should be.

I’m totally against wanton killing, and I don’t abide by the death penalty for humans. But if someone broke into my house at night, and threatened me in such a way that I did not feel safe, I would absolutely shoot that person and I would shoot to kill. Not even police officers shoot to disable, they shoot to kill, because it is too hard and too risky to do anything but shoot someone in the largest, broadest, part of their body. I’d feel the exact same way about a dog that came in, and threatened either my life or health, or that of another animal under my care. This lady was chasing the dog around, and it wasn’t responsive to her, there was nothing she could have done other than shoot the dog herself, or call the ACO in.

I’ve been coming across this debate on a couple sites and I find it interesting that people are getting so heated over something they only know half a story about. Unless you were there how can you make a decision as to what was right or wrong. All the comments in the article were from the dog owner and a spokesperson from the police. They weren’t even there.

Overall its a simple concept to understand: if you choose to be a dog owner, you are responsible for that dog at all times. If it gets shot while trespassing, your at fault. If you don’t like it, don’t own a dog.

I’ve been following this all day, and finally must give in to the desire to comment. I am not a farmer. I am a dog owner and an animal lover. Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems pretty simple: Owning any animal is a responsibility. Keep your animals secure on your own property.

If a loose dog is attacking livestock, it’s no different from a wild animal attacking livestock. Of course the farmer or ACO is going to have to shoot it. They are responsible for protecting their animals. What else are they going to do? Rocks aren’t going to do a darn thing.

And how on earth can someone say the dog wasn’t attacking anything? It says in the article quoted RIGHT ON THE TOP OF THIS VERY PAGE that the dog was biting and chasing the horses, and growling at the humans trying to stop it. Get your facts straight, people!

I I came into this way too late…..but am no less offended at Doglover’s comments. FYI Ms. Conroy does have dogs that are trained and who adore her! Oneof them is used as a therapy dog and they work many volunteer hours in several communities, surely delighting those they work with. I used to be a farmer and have always been a dog lover and owner….sadly i once had to put down the wonderful St Bernard rhat “raised” my little kids when she killed the kids’ pet goat and then the family cat! There was no other option. Seems to me that some “blogging” becomes an avenue to some for nastiness and vitriole….too bad…we all love dogs.

I had to purchase a security system that took a pictures night and day to make the Town of Bethlehem not believe Officer Watt’s untrue comments about what was really going on my property. My nightmare ended once I had a couple of video’s showing that my neighbors dogs were jumping the fence to come over to my property to get my old blind pug. Neighbor is a good friend of Officer Watt. So I will advise the Decker family to demand a full investigation and not by the Town of Bethlehem.

Here is a reply I left on the DOGS blog. I’m reposting it here because you have a couple of readers who might benefit from it, althought I have serious doubts they will. And if they didn’t before, surely they will now, believe that I’m a 100% Bethlehem redneck

The commenter there asked/stated::::: If there are any farmers that own dogs as well (or even owners of multiple pets) – would the first thing you would do be to shoot your own dog if he goes after your other animals? I know I wouldn’t.:::::

The answer to one of your questions is “I would”. The “guard” dog came very close. Woke up one morning to her barking, looked out the window and she appeared to be chasing deer. I grabbed the shotgun and told my wife that I’d be back. When I opened the door to follow the dog and deer, the deer were gone and the dog was lying on the porch. She got a reprieve….because she had chased the deer to the property line and quit….NO TRESPASSING ALLOWED…seemed to be her motto.

And would livestock owners/farmers eliminate their dog for chasing/haressing/killing their animals? I think the answer is emphatically, Indeed they would!

Like I said earlier, most of my life has involved farming in one way or another. And I’ve probably dealt with more farmers, and been on more farms, in a week, than you’ll encounter in a year or probably a lifetime.

Fortunately, other than my own, as mentioned, I never had a dog problem with my livestock.

And yes, before you ask, I used to run 60-70 head of cattle.
You ever give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a 2 minute old new born calf, only to have the veternarian say, as you’re puffing and pressing away, “Freddie, you have to make a quick decision. Do you want to save the calf, or it’s mother”? I have.

@85. You’re absolutley correct. Hopefully, these ‘Bethlehem’ farmers are not indicative of farmers in general. These guys definitely have a warped mentality. When someone can so heartlessly aim to kill even their ‘guard’ dog, then it’s no telling what they’ll do to other animals, let alone you and me. Remember, though, they’re supposedly doing it to save their livestock (I guess that means their wallets). Too bad it always comes down to money. I have no respect for you farmers…at least, the ones on this website!

I’ve had rude commenters plenty of times in the past, but you win the prize. Over 80 comments on this subject, quite a few responding to your allegations and questions and yet it appears you didn’t even read them.

Your comment about money/wallets was beyond rude and makes it even more obvious that you didn’t read any of the other comments…that is VERY sad, because a lot of people tried really hard to reply nicely to you.

Feel free to comment all you want, but you’ll probably have to go over my head to have them approved. Not sure why you bothered coming back, you’ve made it clear you dislike me and my blog.

Nope, not kidding. I am the moderator of this blog and I’VE APPROVED every comment (comments do not go through for public view until I see them first) and I’m done. @doglover – You mentioned my name in some comments and I can’t help but feel this is more of a personal attack. If you would like to talk with me personally, my email is maxspot@aol.com, feel free to contact me.

There has been plenty of time for everyone to voice their opinions on this particular subject and it has been an interesting ride for sure. I’m officially CLOSING THIS POST and will not be approving ANY more comments for this particular post. Perhaps the issue can be taken up on a ‘DOG blog’ if interest continues.

Thank you, Teri for your voice of reason on this issue. I feel terrible for the owners of the dog, but I’m from dairy/farm country and when an animal is attacking your livestock, you do what you have to do to keep them safe. I trail ride past a dog owner who has a high chain link fence keeping his German Shepard contained. The dog snarls, growls, and barks to the point that I can hear his heavy, engraged breathing from a good distance. If that dog got loose, he absolutely would chace the horses, regardless of whether or not there is a rider. Horses are prey animals and by instinct will run through barbed wire, into fences, into ditches, into people – anything to get away from the creature chasing them. I’m certain that there was no safe way to extricate the dog from the horse paddock without the officer getting injured by a horse or the horses getting more injured from their terror. It’s a sad situation, but the dog was following his instincts.